Sebastian Vettell takes pole wet and wild track in Montreal

Sebastian Vettel gets some attention from his crew during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix yesterday. After three rounds on the 4.361-km, 13-turn road course in Montreal, Vettel claimed the pole position for today's race. (MARTIN CHEVALIER/QMI Agency)

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DEAN McNULTY, QMI Agency

MONTREAL - Everywhere I wandered in Quebec’s largest city this weekend the refrain was much the same: The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix marks the official start of summer for Montreal.

Well you could have fooled me and about 75,000 others who braved the cold and wet confines of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Saturday while 23 sleek, powerful race cars slipped and slid around its 4.361-km, 13-turn road course, trying desperately to find a dry patch of pavement.

At the end of three rounds of qualifying for Sunday’s 49th running of the Canadian GP, Sebastian Vettel claimed the pole position in his Red Bull Renault.

But it seemed like every lap was an adventure with race cars missing corners, driving through chicanes and generally resembling Bambi attempting to traverse a frozen pond.

The second session was even stopped completely when the Ferrari of Felipe Massa slammed sideways into a tire barrier in Turn 3.